SAGAING DIVISION – About 5,000 people, who have been fleeing the war for almost two years in Ye U Township, need assistance for food and shelter, stated Mr. Htoo Khant Zaw, the leader of Ye U Township IDP Support Group.
Most of the displaced persons have been fleeing the war since November 2021 and have been staying in camps near the forests and fields and schools and monastery compounds.
“Some can afford to buy meals but most of the IDPs have to hunt for fish in the lakes and pick up the vegetables that grow along the ponds for food. The roofs of their shelters are also unsafe and leaky,” said Mr. Htoo Khant Zaw.
These displaced persons are from Zawa, Nhawkone, Kanpauk, Watphoe, Myinpauk, Ywarmathaa, Motesi, Muusone, Noyetan, Konethar, Ywarthitchanthar, Htanpinkone, Flamgone, Sitharmyay, Pankone, Boyone, Zeekan, Chaung U, Monetaingpin, Ywarbugyi, Gaya, Mayoekone, Nyaung Hla, Sinchan, Chaungsone and Kwanown Villages in Sagaing Division.
Most IDPs have been staying in temporary shelters in the forest as there are few job opportunities in the war-torn village areas and they dare not return to their village and live there as they fear their houses being torched by junta troops again.
In addition, there are also those who moved to the cities where their relatives live. Some locals continue to live in the village while others support the local PDFs and stay under their care.
There are no regular monthly donations for war refugees and thus it is not enough to support all as the donations need to be distributed among those in need, said the leader of Ye U Township IDP Support Group.
He also said that only the People’s Administration Organizations and the local PDFs have been coordinating to meet the food and living needs of those fleeing the war.
Last June 16, the Ye U Township Displaced People Support Group, led by Mr. Htoo Khant Zaw, donated a fifteen-foot-wide tarpaulin to each of the 80 families fleeing the war (with priority to those families having senior members) and also donated blankets and instant noodle packages to ten other households.
People fleeing the war in Ye U Township are still in need of help and one can contact the Ye U Township Displaced People Support Organization’s Facebook Page to make donations.